A federal agent shot a pastor in the face with a chemical weapon. What can California do about it?

"Rev. Jorge Bautista showed up to Dennison Road in East Oakland early in the morning of Oct. 23 with other clergy to protest the Trump administration's planned law enforcement "surge" in the Bay Area. He stood in the road with dozens of others as part of a Sanctuary Faith Vigil as approximately 10 trucks carrying Customs and Border Protection agents sped to the entrance of the lone bridge that ties Oakland to Coast Guard Island."

"According to three eyewitnesses who spoke to The Oaklandside and photographs from three photographers who were on the scene, a few CBP agents got out of their vehicles when they got stalled by the crowd. Other vehicles made it onto the bridge, where some CBP agents got out and returned to the cluster of protesters, who were all gathered on the city side of the blue line marking the edge of federal property."

"One of the agents, wearing a camo helmet with a chin guard hiding much of his face and a ballistic vest with a CBP badge and "POLICE" emblazoned on the front, locked eyes with Bautista and stepped toward him, crossing the blue line and exiting federal land. The agent raised a large weapon, one that shoots "less lethal" projectiles, leveling it at the reverend's head. Bautista didn't think anything would happen. The agents had just lobbed some stun grenades toward the protesters, many of whom quickly retreated, but Bautista and others stayed in place. He was hoping to mediate, not believing they would fire anything directly at people's bodies, he said. "We're here in peace," he recalls saying to the agent. Then "boom!" The agent, standing roughly five feet away, shot a cloud of noxious chemicals right into Bautista's face. The toxic vapors soon enveloped him."

Dozens of clergy and protesters gathered on Dennison Road in East Oakland for a Sanctuary Faith Vigil as roughly 10 trucks carrying Customs and Border Protection agents arrived to cross the bridge to Coast Guard Island. A few CBP agents exited vehicles and moved toward the group, while other vehicles reached the bridge. Some agents crossed the blue line marking federal property. One camo-helmeted agent advanced toward Rev. Jorge Bautista, leveled a weapon that fires "less lethal" projectiles, and fired a cloud of noxious chemical agent directly into Bautista's face, enveloping him in toxic vapors. Many protesters retreated after stun grenades were deployed.

Read at The Oaklandside